SHARE 2014
The Inaugural Asian Symposium on Human Rights Education
Hiroshima, Japan
March 2-4, 2014
Official Proceedings
The Inaugural Asian Symposium on Human Rights Education
Hiroshima, Japan, 2014
Official Conference Proceedings ISSN 2188-4013
Managing Editor: Professor John Latzo
For the PRESDA Foundation and the SHARE 2014 Advisory Committee
SHARE 2014 Program Committee
Dr Claudio Delang, Hong Kong Baptist University (Hong Kong, SAR) Dr Henry Yuan-Fu Wang, Internal Medicine, Tainan Municipal Hospital (Taiwan)
Dr Gabriel Barhaim, Sociological Institute for the Study of Communities, Bar Il-lan University (Israel) Dr Hossein Esmaeli, School of Law, Flinders University (Australia)
Dr Matthew Krystal, Department of Anthropology, North Central College (USA) Dr Bhimaraya Metri, The International Management Institute (India)
Dr Teilee Kuong, Center for Asia Legal Exchange (Japan) Mr Michael Sasaoka, Academic Director, Tierra (Japan) Mr Isao Aratani, Director, Hiroshima Volunteer Association (Japan)
Prof John Stayton, Executive Director, Graduate Programs, Sonoma State University (USA) Prof John Latzo, Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, POSTECH (Korea) Prof Yutaka Kawaguchi, Faculty of Humanities, Tokai Women’s College (Japan) Chairman Takayuki Yamada, PRESDA Foundation Board of Directors (Japan)
Chairman Sayantan Sinha, PRESDA Foundation Board of Advisers (Japan) Prof Michiyo Sugai, Nagoya Sangyo University (Japan)
The Inaugural Asian Symposium on Human Rights Education
Official Conference Proceedings
Managing Editor and Program Committee
Conference Abstracts: pages 1-13
Full Papers 14-125:
• Margaret Sanopo: page 14 • Teguh Wijaya Mulya page 21 • Sona Dixit: page 27
• Shu-Man Pan: page 33
• Mahammad Guluzade: page 46 • Daneila Petrillo: page 50 • Jagganath Dash: T%$ • Tin Maung Htwe: page 74 • Theron Fairchild: page 89 • Mauro Saccol: page 97
Abstracts for Oral Presentations
0101 School Bullying: The Case of the Filipino Children
Margaret Sanapo, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan
School bullying has become one of the major concerns of policymakers worldwide, especially with the much-publicized youth suicides. However, despite the enormity of the problem, few researchers have looked into this in the Philippines. This paper was conducted to add to the negligible number of literature and at the same time inform all stakeholders about young Filipino children`s experience with their peers. A total of 171 students in the Western Visayas participated in the survey. The average age of the respondents was 12 and 53.2% were boys. Results revealed that 91.2% of those surveyed reported to have been involved in fights with other children, which ranged from minor teasing to punching. When these reported fights were looked into using Olweus` definition, 28.7% of the children can be said to have experienced bullying others while a greater number (72.5%) have been bullied. Retaliation (57%) was the topmost motive why they hurt their peers and “they just liked teasing or hurting me” (28%) came out as the most frequent reason for being hurt by others. Chi-square analyses had shown that there was no significant difference between male and female children`s experience. This implied that approximately the same number of boys and girls reported to have bullied and been bullied by others. This was a surprise since most studies had pointed out that boys tend to have more experience than girls with regard to bullying others and being bullied in return.
0102 "Homosexuality and Human Rights Are Un-African": Problematizing the Colonial Character of Human Rights Rhetoric and Practice
Pierre De Vos, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
0103 Human Rights Documentary, "Beneath the Blindfold"
Kathy Berger, Ines Sommer, Independent filmmaker, Evanston, Illinois, USA
Beneath the Blindfold (55 min.), is a breakthrough human rights documentary about the aftermath of torture. The film interweaves the personal stories of four torture survivors who now reside in the U.S., but originally hail from different parts of the globe: South and Central America, Africa, and the U.S.
The screening of this documentary complements the symposium’s theme of promoting greater understanding of human rights by connecting it with a film that provides a face and a voice to those who have been subjected to torture; one of the worst violations of human rights and one that is still practiced throughout the world.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Professor Juan Mendez, once stated that the “perspective of victims of torture must be at the centre of all efforts to implement the UN Convention against Torture”. That concept is reflected in the character driven, personal storytelling style of our documentary.
The survivors featured in Beneath the Blindfold face the psychological and physical fallout from their experience, while going through the daunting steps of building new lives, careers, and relationships. The film takes an unflinching look at the consequences of torture through the eyes of survivors while celebrating their ability to regain agency and hope.
Through the film, the symposium participants will learn about the psychological, political and historical dimensions of torture in a way that engages both the heart and the mind. Beneath the Blindfold helps to counter the misinformation about torture’s effectiveness while deepening the public's understanding of the long-range effects of torture.
0107 The Limit of Human Rights: Sexual Orientation, LGBTI Activism, and Indonesian Youth
Teguh Wijaya Mulya, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
The discourse of human sexual rights has been dominant in recent sexuality studies, declarations, and activisms. It has become one of the most powerful rhetoric in international discussions, so that both proponents and opponents of LGBTI movement unreservedly employed human rights arguments. In these debates, human rights is taken for granted as one of the strongest authorities to appeal to. It becomes the norm everyone is assumed to unequivocally agree. Inspired by the radical anti-normativity approach of queer theory, in this presentation I seek to deconstruct the discourse of human sexual rights – which could potentially be the new oppressive regime in the LGBTI movement. I unpack several assumptions behind the discourse of human sexual rights, namely: (1) the assumption of fixed and stable “identity,” (2) the assumption of autonomous and self-determining subject, (3) the assumption of a universal vision of humanity, and (4) the assumption that human rights movement is apolitical. I use the narratives of Indonesian youth I interviewed to show how youth’s sexual subjectivities have been regulated by and transgressed these assumptions. I discuss the broader impact of my critique with regard to alternative LGBTI activisms in
Indonesia and elsewhere, such as creative and unusual activism strategies which can potentially rework and disrupt the dominant heteronormative culture.
0114 Restructuring the School Curriculum to Enable Explicit and Implicit Opportunities for Human Rights Education
Susan Oguro, Nina Burridge, University of Technology Sydney, Australia
This paper reports on the results of a large research project which investigated the place of human rights education in the school curriculum in Australia and the extent of the opportunities for teaching and learning about human across the school years from Kindergarten to Year 12. Against the background of developments in human rights education at the international level, including the United Nations (UN) Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training, school curricula were analysed using a conceptual framework that focused on the extent to which human rights issues and topics were explicitly or implicitly addressed in these curriculum documents. Qualitative data was also obtained in the study from key stakeholders including curriculum bodies, education authorities, teacher associations and community organisations to allow examination of the extent to which Australian schools are engaging with human rights education. The paper will report a summary of findings in three key areas, namely: the opportunities provided in school curricula for students to learn about human rights issues; the gaps in the curriculum provision; and teaching resources and technologies available to support students to improve their knowledge about human rights. Overall, the study highlights the need for greater recognition of the role of education in improving understanding of human rights and building civic values. This requires a greater focus on human rights education in the curriculum and professional development of teachers to improve their pedagogical skills and understanding of human rights.
0116 Teaching World Children's Human Right Issues in 5th & 6th Grade Classroom
Kaoru Miyazawa, Gettysburg College, Pennsylvania, USA
0121 Why Stay or Not to Stay? - Divorce of Transnational Marriages in Taiwan
Shu-Man Pan, Huey-fen Lu, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan
Marriage migration has become a global phenomenon since the end of 20th century. Increasing marriage migration has become one of the prominent demographic features of Taiwan over the last twenty years. Studies in the west have shown that the divorce rate of interracial marriage is higher than non-interracial marriage because of culture, customs, language, and power inequality. In Taiwan, this has been evidenced by the number of divorced transnational marriage couples is 6,448 2001 and 12,972 in 2011.
According to the immigration laws and regulations of Taiwan, if foreign and Mainland Chinese (MLC) spouses file for divorce before obtaining their citizen status, they have to leave Taiwan. They can continue to live in Taiwan only when they obtain minor biological child custody or protection order due to domestic violence. This implies that citizen status could be critical for the decision-making of divorce for immigrant women.
This paper, based on face-to-face interview with 655 divorced immigrant women, presents the tendency of divorce among transnational marriages and the factors influencing their decisions on divorce in different stage of residency. The results have shown that the divorce time differs between foreign spouses and the MLC-spouses. The highest year is the 5th year for foreign spouses, while the highest year for the MLC-spouses is the 9th year. In the first year, the MLC-spouses propose divorce request about 7.33%, but only 1.42% for foreign spouses. Main reason for divorce is “marital conflict”, followed by “domestic violence” (38.5%).
0123 Empowering Communities to Fight Human Organ Trafficking
Ivan Qarlsen Ledesma, Elfrey Vera Cruz, International Labour Organization, Makati City, Philippines
Organs for Sale; Discounts available. Despite stronger policies in placed in the Philippines, human organ still persists in various parts of the country. Human organ is still one of the most controversial and hard to eliminate type of human trafficking that plagues the most vulnerable people and communities.
This paper tries to answer the questions that revolve around the contemporary form of slavery – that is human organ trafficking in the Philippines. In the current socio – economic status of the country who are still forced to engage in this activity? Who are the perpetrators? What is the process conducted and how this affects the trafficked victims post-surgery. The research, anchored in the project –“Empowering Communities Against Human Organ Trafficking” did not only pose questions but also tried to provide solutions such as self-empowering approach against human organ trafficking, clustering approach in referral and collective support amongst victims, and policy evaluation and adaptation to vulnerable sites.
The research was able to amass significant data coming from 6 regions, 7 provinces and hundreds of firsthand accounts. The research provides great light in this contemporary form trafficking that encompasses international and black market. In a country wherein national public hospitals are also being used as the transaction and operating centers for these trafficking acts makes it rather all the more controversial for the national government but mundane for the people living on edge.
0125 On Female Genital Mutilation: Educators and Survivors Working Together to End It
Tobe Levin von Gleichen, The Hutchins Center (formerly W.E.B. Du Bois Institute) for African and
African American Research, Harvard University, USA and, starting October 2014, Visiting Research Fellow in International Gender Studies, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University, UK
Peace education aims to lessen aggression, and education is the best hope for those affected by a ‘ritual’ amputation of healthy sexual organs. Girls who endure female genital mutilation, exceeding 100 million, have published memoirs, alerted journalists, and called on civil society to help them deter peers and parents from supporting the blade. Survivors Jaha Dukureh, Leyla Hussein, Khady Koita, Waris Dirie, and anonymous respondents who have sought restoration share their experiences, reveal how their wounds have changed and challenged them, and express hope that the deafening silence most authorities, governments, and media have maintained for the more than three decades of effort to end FGM can now be replaced by a sea-change in measures to stop it. Recognizing how FGM works against public peace and tranquility, I introduce these women as courageous leaders of a cresting campaign and show how their books and voices may be fruitful in university curricula.
When, in 1977, a professor of literature, I helped launch the movement in Germany, available information, mainly by anthropologists, obscured the violence by enveloping it in ‘soft’ language. The legitimate aim was to avert racism, but the result was indifference by authorities and government, who then withheld sufficient means to reduce the incidence of genital assault.
The limited availability of these pioneers’ stories, recorded in memoirs, fiction and non-fiction against FGM, led me to realize that educators needed a new resource. UnCUT/VOICES Press was therefore launched in the fall of 2009 to fill the gap. Its five key publications further the abolitionist cause: Khady’s memoir, Blood Stains. A Child of Africa Reclaims her Human Rights (translated from the French, 2010), Hubert Prolongeau’s Undoing FGM. Pierre Foldes, the Surgeon Who Restores the Clitoris (translated from the French, 2011), as well as Nick Hadikwa Mwaluko’s drama,
WAAFRIKA. Kenya. 1992. Two Women Fall in Love (2013), and Tobe Levin, ed. Waging Empathy. Alice Walker,
Possessing the Secret of Joy, and the Global Movement to Ban FGM (2014). In addition, Frankie Hutton’s Rose Lore. Essays in Cultural History and Semiotics (2012), which contains only one chapter on FGM, is nonetheless equally ripe for presentation at this conference. Why? It elevates the symbol of the rose, not only as Dr. Tomin Harada’s ‘peace rose’ and Anna Frank’s father’s commemorative hybrid associated with Hiroshima and dedicated to the rejection of violence, but the familiar flower is not merely beautiful; it is at same time also the ironic antonym to loveliness, perfume and tranquility. The rose stands for the female genitalia, the metaphor leaving a complex cultural imprint that can serve as midwife to thinking about the fraught nature of harmful customs deployed against women’s sexuality. And certainly, ending the crime of FGM enhances other efforts to create a more equitable world.
0126 Interpreting Contemporary Violence: Mexico-U.S. Human Rights Abuse
Julie Murphy Erfani, Arizona State University, Phoenix, USA
This paper interprets contemporary violence in Mexico-US relations from the perspective of horror as theorized by Hannah Arendt, political theorist; Adriana Cavarero, feminist theorist and political philosopher; and international relations theorists Francois Debrix and Alexander Barder among others. The paper will employ the Arendt-Cavarero definition of horrorific violence as annihilation of embodiment that attacks the very humanity of people. The focus is on the manner in which people’s bodies and humanity are assaulted.
0129 Human Rights Education: Challenges for NGOs
Mahammad Guluzade, Baku State University, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan as a former USSR country obtained its independence in 1991 and since then adopted numerous laws affecting human rights and joined all leading human rights conventions. Despite of rapid democratization process in the country, the recent changes in the legislation affecting non-governmental organizations will make a negative influence on human rights education in the country as the novelties in the law impede registration and operation of both local organizations as well as foreign organizations that intend to support civil society community by realizing different projects. My paper will study the legal framework that creates such obstacles, provide comparative study of similar legislation in other countries, particularly focusing on anti-terrorism and money laundering legislation, studying relevant case of the European court of human rights as well as other international tribunals.
0131 Evaluating Lecturer’s Role on Muslim Women’s Rights Education in Malaysian Teaching Instituitions
Sharifah Nooraida Binti Wan Hasan, Raihanah Abdullah, Academy of Islamic Studies, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The Teacher Training Division (BPG), Ministry of Education, Malaysia endorsed that there is no specific subject accentuating on Muslim women’s rights education within the curriculum of any teaching institutes. Nevertheless, Muslim women’s rights is a sub-topic taught in between the mandatory curriculum per se. The quantitative paper reports a study that aims to evaluate the implementation of Muslim women’s rights education in Teacher Education Institutes in Malaysia. A self-developed questionnaire was used to gauge the respondents’ opinions on their role and their implementation of teaching and learning in educating Muslim women’s in their rights on the statements
regarding the two main dimensions stated. The instrument was distributed to 60 lecturers from twenty one (21 Teacher Education Institutes (IPG) in Malaysia. (Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in analysis of data using the SPSS. Median and mode ranking were reported in the descriptive analysis). Descriptive and inferential statistics from SPSS data were used to report onMedian and mode ranking. The results of the study revealed the positive relationship between the role and the implementation of teaching and learning according to spearman’s rho correlation test. The findings will be useful in Muslim women’s rights education especially those lecturers in Teacher Education Institutes while educating Muslim women’s about their rights.
0132 Role of Art in the Depiction of Cultural Rights & Values Among the Lanjia Saora, A Primitive Tribe of Odisha, India
Jagannath Dash, Dept. of Anthropology, Utkal University, India
Away from the din and bustle of modern life in the interior little accessible forest clad regions of Southern Odisha, there lives a primitive tribe known as Lanjia Saora. Because of a tail like hanging in their loin cloth, the primitive Saoras are called Lanjia (means tail) Saora. The Government of India has declared them as a primitive tribal group (PTG) considering upon their economic backwardness, persistence of age-old traditional cultural tradition and their habitat in a relatively isolated hilly terrain.
Lanjia Saoras, the primitive section of the generic 'Saora' tribe are primarily shifting cultivators who are also very much dependent on terrace cultivation side by side. Because of certain socio-cultural specialities, Lanjia Saoras have attracted several Western scholars from Europe in the past. They are mostly known for their clanless social
organisation, unique art, craft, and iconography, exclusive tattoo, colorful dress pattern, graceful dance, stratified title groups and beautiful terrace cultivation all around the village.
Saora art or icons indigenously designed in the form of wall paintings. They are of two types, namely sacred and secular. The sacred ones are painted on the inner walls for propitiating deities on various occasions whereas the secular ones are depicted on the outer walls of the house for decoration purpose. The Saora art or icon is known as 'Idital,' which etymologically means 'to write'. They are drawn/painted by a specialized artist known as 'Italmaran' who are usually males.
Saora art is of great cultural value. According to the deities invoked, the structure of the painting is designed. However in most of the cases Sun god is painted in the middle or upper part of the 'Idital'. Starting from the name-giving ceremony to the fulfillment of wishes several types of paintings are depicted which maintain several layers for the deities as per their status usually within a decorative boundary/border. Outside the border-line all natural, and sociocultural matters are depicted. On the lower layers Saora men and women are placed depicting various activities from economic to dancing. It is very interesting that all such activities in the wall-painting specifically highlight the rights of the gods, high-status and common people in addition to the position of various wild animals and birds. Attempts have been made in the paper to decipher the cultural rights and values of the Saoras by the analysis of several Lanjia Saora icons presented in the visual form.
0137 The Rights of Disabled People to Perform Religious Rites: A Case Study of Selected Mosques in Malaysia
Raihanah Abdullah, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
To the rest of the world, the mosque is known as a place of retreat for Muslims, where they perform most of their prayers. However, to Muslims, the mosque is more than just a place of worship, it is a community center where they could connect and interact with each other and foster family and friendship ties through the various social, cultural, political, educational and other activities organized by the mosque committee.
0143 Glimpsing the Neuroscience of Creativity: A Review
Theron Fairchild, Kanagawa University, Hiratsuka, Japan
Whether dealing with globalization and law, environment and sustainability, or human rights and ethics, the challenges to human civilization continue to evolve. These challenges, in turn, demand our greater understanding of the world, its complex interdependencies, and ultimately our human selves. Taken a step further, they also insist that we become more aware of how we specifically address problems and create solutions. Hence, this current paper addresses a few key topics in the neuroscientific approach to human creativity. The literature reviewed comes specifically from perspectives in cognitive neuroscience, neuropsychology, neuroimaging, and psychopathology. The paper’s purpose is to strip away some of the misconceptions about the brain and problem-solving processes, in an effort to provide deeper insight on how human neurological systems are thought to actually operate and influence creative decisions. Though much more in the neuroscience of creativity remains to be investigated, the results thus far clearly reinforce what has already been noted in related research: addressing problems and creating solutions are handled by the brain in a variety of ways. Unlike the popular depiction of the brain as a static, input-output machine, one rigidly divided between left and right hemispheres, the human neurological system operates much more like a multi-tasking network of converging, diverging, overlapping, and conflicting pursuits.
0156 Protracted Refugee Situations, Conflict, and Serious Crimes
Masako Yonekawa, Rikkyo University, Tokyo, Japan
This presentation offers insight into how serious crimes, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, occurred in Africa’s Great Lakes Region from the perspective of Rwandan refugees, which is one of the oldest and longest protracted caseloads in Sub-Saharan Africa. The outflow of refugees from 1959 onward set off a chain reaction that led to the 1994 Rwandan genocide, two consecutive wars in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the late 1990s, and other atrocities occurring until the present day in those countries. These crimes have also resulted in the largest number of casualties in a single conflict since the end of World War II and two subsequent protracted refugee caseloads: those refugees who fled during and immediately after the 1994 genocide, and the post-genocide refugees who have fled since 1995 because they were dissidents who opposed the current Rwandan regime and of the Rwandan President in particular. The serious crimes has continued due to the politically violent and insecure situations in which refugees have been located for lengthy periods both in countries of asylum and of origin, and as a result of the complacency resulting from the chronic culture of impunity surrounding key actors, including the former and present protracted refugees. The vicious cycle of violence and rebellion created by the protracted refugees is likely to continue unless the concerned governments and humanitarian and human rights agencies develop appropriate preventive and proactive measures.
Abstracts for Poster Presentations
0147 A Meta-analysis of the Factors Influencing Happiness Among Thai People in Diversity Occupations
Janya Sripoomphruek, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand
The purpose of this study was to study the factors influencing happiness among Thai people in diversity occupation. The sample studies were 12 quantitative researches that focused on the factors influencing happiness among Thai people. They are published during 2009 – 2013. Content analysis and meta-analysis described by Rosenthal (1984) were the methods used for analysis. 41.67 percent of occupation was government official 33.34 was medical personnel and last one was private working. Based on the content analysis, the factors most influence to happiness was working style and relationship in working place. Appreciated in life, appreciated in work and quality of life, they were second factors.
0148 A Study of Drop Out from School System: Case Studies
Thewagorn Tang-ot, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand
The purpose of study was to find out the causes of the grade 9 students who have trend to early drop out from school system. Sample group were 7 students of the grade 9 in Nanang Pattanasuksa School, Phone Phisai district, Nong Khai Province, Thailand in 1st semester academic year 2014. Research methodologies were observation, interview, home visit, biography, habit and attitude toward studying questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed and presented in descriptive statistics. Research results were; there are 2 main courses affected to drop out from school system. The 1st was student problem such as physical, psychological and behavioral problems. The 2nd problem was environmental problem such as family, school and social. For family problems are economic, relationship and support from family. For school problems are teacher has work overload and excessive of student and school escaping and the last one was about problems from the social such as a community, neighborhood and social media.
0149 The Quality of Life Style’s the Over 100 years Elderly in Northeastern, Thailand
Suwaree Sivabaeya, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand
The objective of this research was to study the life style of the elderly in the Northeastern region, Thailand. The samples were 10 elderly persons who over 100 years old live in Northeastern region. The instrument was the questionnaire of quality life style. Data were analyzed by calculating percentile. The research found the sample had quality of life including: 1) the security in object and finance: the elderly lived with their offspring, and their own house. As a result, they had security and strong physical health based on their age. 2) For their health, daily life activity, health and hygiene, almost all of elderly persons could be able to help themselves, walk as their exercise, and eat as usual. Their general health was at “Good” level. 3) For inter personal relationship, the elderly mostly
participated in activities with their family. 4) For activities in community, society, and country, most of elderly persons decreased their role from the former time went they use to participate in both of public and community activities. At present, they participated in religious activity related culture or tradition with community in some occasions. They still preserved their local culture such as food, dressing, and local cultural art.
0150 A Comparison of Elderly Loneliness Who Lives in Nursing Home and Private Home in Muang District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand
0151 Factors Influencing Participation in Gangs of Illegal Motorcycle Racing in Rural Areas
Pornphan Klangklang, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand
The purpose for this research was to study the factors influence the participation in the gang of illegal motorcycle racing in rural area. Sample group was 30 teenage who living in Ban Bor Ubonrat district Khon Kaen province Thailand. Research methodology were participant questionnaire, was created by researcher. It covered in general background and participate frequency of illegal motorcycle racing activity. The research result will be discussed
0152 The Effect of Peer Group Activities on Female Aggression During Adolescence Among Secondary School Students in the 7th grade
Orathai Butmuen, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand
The main objective of this research is to determine the effect of peer group activities on reducing aggressive behavior in adolescence. The research method was quasi experimental with pretest- posttest design. A sample of eight 7th grade female students, selected for their classroom aggressive behavior, was assigned to peer group activities and no-treatment control group. All subjects were administered a pretest and post-test battery measuring aggressive behavior levels, physical and verbal aggressive.
The sample group received peer in 3 months, twice a week. Results indicated that students who attended peer group activities is exhibit significantly in less aggressive behavior levels, both in physical and verbal aggressive.
0153 Thai Medical Personnel Attitudes Toward People Who Have Lived with HIV/AIDS from 1984 -2006
Jaruda Sringam, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand
The purpose of this literature review research was to study and evaluate the attitude of Thai medical personnel to people who living with HIV/AIDS from 1984 -2006. The relevant data were collected from 55 papers published during 1984 to 2006. The data were analysed and presented in a mean score and descriptive statistics.
The reviewed publications were the papers published during 1884-1996 and during 1997-2006. The level of attitude to the HIV/AIDS people were ranked to 3 categories; namely high, medium and low.
During the outbreak era from 1984 – 1996, the positive attitude of Thai medical personnel to people living with HIV/AIDS scored high, medium and low of 11, 62 and 27 percent, respectively while the respect of attitude during 1997-2006 was 13 and 87 percent for high and medium score.
The attitude has dramatically positive changed after the national intervention policy declared in 1997.During the first decade of outbreak era, lacking of knowledge, people in Thailand were confused and afraid of being infected by HIV and did not understood of the misbehavior of infected persons. Later, in the second decade between 1997 -2006, Thailand had the clarified policy in HIV/AIDS and eventually HIV infection has been successfully controlled. Moreover, the guidelines including training courses of HIV/AIDS in caring the HIV/AIDS people have been widely developed and disseminated resulting in positive understanding and attitudes to those patients.
Abstracts for Virtual Presentations
0109 ‘Global Perspectives’ and Human Rights: A Comparative Study of Student Teachers’ Perspectives from University of Oulu and University of Hiroshima
Kiyoko Uematsu, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
In an effort to move towards more democratic society with plurality and inclusiveness in the globalized sphere, teachers play important role in cultivating global citizens of the future. It is crucial for teachers to become ethically responsible global citizens themselves in order to teach topics that are concerns for all human being, such as human rights, social injustice and environmental issues. The call for inclusion of global learning in teacher education (Banks, 2004) raises the question of how student teachers conceptualize ‘global perspectives’ in relation to human rights values and ethics associated with teaching professions. The purpose of this research is to examine various aspects in the process of becoming ‘globally oriented’ educators in University of Oulu and University of Hiroshima. The theory of critical multiculturalism (May & Sleeter, 2010) and the concepts from critical global citizenship education (Andreotti, 2006) form an umbrella analytical lens for this study. Using a mixed methodology, preliminary results have shown that students from two universities demonstrated varied perceptions on ‘global perspectives’, which are discussed in relation to three locations of global citizenship discourse: neoliberal orientation, nationalistic tendencies, and cosmopolitanism. While keeping cautions at the Western implication of human rights for all, the practical implications emphasize the need for human rights perspective in teacher education. It will also provide an opportunity for teacher educators to critically reflect in an effort to prepare teachers who are ethically responsible citizens, concerned for human rights and can act as active agents to transform practices for more socially ‘just’ education.
0112 Made to Order: The Manipulation of Multiculturalism in US Education Policy
Troy Babbitt, Vientiane College, Vientiane, Laos
This study follows the development and deployment of multiculturalism in education policy in order to understand how and why it exists. The researcher utilizes critical theory and, in particular, critical pedagogy to explicate the contradictions of multiculturalism, and how the United States education policy ascribes them to systemic factors of economic, and not ethical or civil, value. The researcher concludes that political ideology has become educational hegemony in which neoliberal rationality informs reform policies and entails multiculturalism to organizational and institutional outcomes instead of democratic values of diversity and tolerance.
0113 Teaching Gender Issues
Staci-Anne Ali, Aichi Daigaku, Japan
0119 Spirituality, Universal Values and Social Consciousness as Precursors to Right to Dignified Life in the 21st Century
Sona Dixit, Dayalbagh Educational Institute (Deemed University), Dayalbagh, Agra, India
Universal values reveal the essence of the human condition. It is through universal values that we link ourselves with humanity and the cosmos. Consciousness refers to processes entailing self-reflection., i.e. a type of awareness of awareness or meta awareness. Social consciousness is conscious awareness of being part of an interrelated community of others. It refers to the level of explicit awareness a person has of being a part of a larger whole. It includes the level at which one is aware of how he or she is influenced by others, as well as how his or her actions may effect others. Spirituality is the basic foundation for producing a generation of pure-hearted individuals. Research Studies reveal that the individual sympathetic social mind exists in the social world by interacting with others, mostly by using symbolic forms of social action like languages. Social life is to some extent created by people who share values through mutually comprehensible symbols. Communication leads to the creation of various social rules, some of which aggregate to form social roles defining an individual's place in society. The Paper addresses the problem of securing the right to dignified life to all world citizens by promoting development of Social Consciousness by propagation of Universal values and inculcation of Spirituality in the new generation.
0130 On Love and Punishments: A Design Experience about Places for Affectivity in Italian Jail - Milano San Vittore Case Study
Daniela Petrillo, Politecnico di Milano - School of Design, Milan, Italy
The main goal of this paper is to propose a design-oriented solution to tackle the problem of spaces related to affectivity in prison. The research finds its place in a European framework, focusing the attention on Italian context with a pilot on San Vittore jail in Milan. Starting from the essay “On Crime and Punishments” written by C. Beccaria in 1764, the work is divided in two parts: the first one is composed of a theoretical, historical and political research showing how the political approach had influenced the modification of the spaces for the punishment in Italy. The second one is more specific in terms of activities and spaces dedicated to affectivity in to the jail. Then, several case studies and best practices identified in this phase are the base for a new kind of project able to design a passage from penitentiary Building to penitentiary Architecture.
The pilot intervention is located in the meeting rooms of San Vittore jail. These are the first tangible contact points between inmates and external world through the relationship with their families. The intention is to ease the entire process of “meeting” in terms of system, suggesting a new level of accessibility to the services and to the spaces. It is an operation of refunctionalization and requalification in order to make a further welcoming environment to re-dignify the lost value of love relationship.
0140 Life with Numbers; Social Protection of Singapore Welfare Schemes
Tin Maung Htwe, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
This essay outlines the developmental aspect of social protection in Singapore. Social protection is
Seemed as an important tool for retirement and healthcare for labors in welfare region. The aids of social protection assist labors to overcome the difficulties. This essay identifies the pattern of saving money to protect social security and government assistance for long term in Singapore. Obviously, Singapore does not have unemployment liability but its CPF saving and government cash assistance for low income families smooth transition in difficulty. Therefore, individual responsibility upon social protection is the new demission for welfare state. Its saving of Singaporeans can help labors in social protection and social security in long term or not is questionable for social policy.
This paper examines the system of social protection in Singapore and its scheme to citizens. Numbers of saving in individual account could do overcome labor difficulty and national economy. Singapore government believes social protection is not supposed to rely on government support but to have ability to earn money by being productive workers. Merit based social policy of Singapore plays the main role in social protection and welfare schemes. In Singapore, Numbers in account state what statues of citizens and the types of welfare, if the government needs to support them or not.
0146 Enhancing Human Rights Awareness in Critical Situations: A Practical Experience Mauro Saccol, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
The paper focuses on a personal work experience made by the author in Egypt during six weeks in April-May 2014. In particular, the targets were street children and the purpose of the work was twofold. First, try to motivate them; second, provide basic human rights education.
Therefore, the paper aims at depicting some theoretical elements on human rights education in critical situations. A further purpose would be to underline the difficulties of developing a debate on human rights in contexts where there is lack of education about them, as well as scarce protection.
Based on these premises, the paper will start with an analysis of the author’s practical working experience,
highlighting the most interesting situations that provided some elements on which to reflect. In this part, moreover, the strategy used by the author’s team to develop the educational sessions will be described.
Consequently, some conclusions will be drawn from this practical experience, such as the children’s reactions to the incentives provided by the educators and the results of the sessions, in particular the motivational ones.
SHARE 2014
The discourse of human sexual rights has been dominant in recent sexuality studies, declarations, and activisms. It has become one of the most powerful rhetoric in international discussions, so that both proponents and opponents of LGBTI movement unreservedly employed human rights arguments. In these debates, human rights is taken for granted as one of the strongest authorities to appeal to. It becomes the norm everyone is assumed to unequivocally agree.
Inspired by the radical anti-normativity approach of queer theory, in this presentation I seek to deconstruct the discourse of human sexual rights – which could potentially be the new oppressive regime in the LGBTI movement. I unpack several assumptions behind the discourse of human sexual rights, namely: (1) the assumption of fixed and stable “identity,” (2) the assumption of autonomous and self-determining subject, (3) the assumption of a universal vision of humanity, and (4) the assumption that human rights movement is apolitical. I use the narratives of Indonesian youth I interviewed to show how youth’s sexual subjectivities have been regulated by and transgressed these assumptions.
I discuss the broader impact of my critique with regard to alternative LGBTI activisms in Indonesia and elsewhere, such as creative and unusual activism strategies which can potentially rework and disrupt the dominant heteronormative culture.
Keywords: Sexual rights, LGBTI activism, youth, Indonesia
1
INTRODUCTION
LGBTI movement in Indonesia is currently considered as one of the oldest and largest LGBTI
movements in Southeast Asia
[1]. It started in 1969 with the establishment of HIWAD, the first
transgender organisation in Jakarta. Subsequently, in 1982 the first gay and lesbian organisation,
Lambda Indonesia, was founded; but it did not last long. In 1987 another organisation Gaya
Nusantara was established and now became one of the most well-known Indonesian LGBTI
organisations
[2]. Today there are more than 30 LGBTI NGOs all around Indonesia.
Explicitly stated the word
human rights
at the heart of their movements
[3,4], these
organisations have put considerable efforts to make people aware that LGBTI rights are human
rights. They have established numerous advocacy and support groups, organised various activities,
conducted research, and published periodicals, press releases, and books. The rhetoric of human
rights is dominant within these activities.
At international level, since the first appearance of the word “sexual” in the World
Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993, sexual rights has emerged as the “newest kid on
parents’ right to educate their children, the protection of privacy, home, and the family institution,
and the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. Indonesian hard-line Muslim groups
also claimed that, based on their religion, they have the right to determine what “normal” sexuality
is when they attacked the 2010 ILGA (International Lesbian and Gay Association) Conference in
Surabaya. The rhetoric of rights of religious freedom was also used by Christian groups in
Mississippi to force businesses in the state to stop serving LGBTI people
[11]. The notion of human
rights has been perceived to be one of the strongest authorities to appeal to. It is very attractive and
convincing so that various opposing camps flock to join this human rights choir. It is the “norm” or
the “common sense” view that everyone is assumed to agree on.
Swimming against the tide, in this paper I will challenge the discourse of human sexual rights
which has dominated the discussions around activism and “sexual orientation.” First, I unpack
several taken-for-granted assumptions behind the discourse of human sexual rights. I use narratives
from Indonesian youth I interviewed during my thesis to show how their subjectivities have been
regulated by
and
transgressed these assumptions. Subsequently, I explore the possibility of new
alternative activisms beyond the rhetoric of human rights.
2
THE PROBLEM WITH THE DISCOURSE OF HUMAN SEXUAL RIGHTS: FOUR
ASSUMPTIONS
Before I explicate four assumptions underpinning the discourse of human sexual rights, I need
to clarify that I do not intend to bid farewell to the idea of human sexual rights completely. I believe
that human rights is still the most strategically promising arguments to talk about “sexual
orientation.” I am aware that continuous radical deconstructions are theoretically necessary, but
politically naïve and not really strategic for social transformation. My aim here is simply modest: to
demonstrate that the discourse of human sexual rights has its own assumptions, and however
powerful its rhetoric, it is good to have alternatives too.
2.1
The Assumption of Fixed and Stable “Identity”
One of the strongest critiques toward the discourse of human sexual rights comes from queer
theory. Queer theory rejects any definitions and categorisations of sex, gender, and sexuality,
including the narrow understanding of “sexual orientation”
[12-14]. Correspondingly, previous
empirical studies have provided ample evidence that “sexual orientation” can be fluid instead of
fixed, stable, and categorical
[15-17]. On the other hand, the discourse of human sexual rights relies on
the mechanisms of identity politics, in which relatively stable “identities” must be specifically
defined – such as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex – before they can be recognised, and
then protected legally. Consequently, the protections promised by sexual rights movements only
apply to those who are willing to be defined by these narrow categories
[18,19].
One of my participants, Heni (24, female, asexual) described that previously she did not care
to label her sexuality. She simply thought that “I am what I am.” But it was not intelligible for her
friends in the LGBTI NGO. Heni said that her friends “keep asking ‘what are you?’” This question
implies that she should have a deep-seated and stable sense of “identity” in relation to her sexual
desire, otherwise she cannot be recognised as a person. The way Heni described that her friends
“keep asking” showed the repetitive and continuous pressure to articulate her sexuality within a
specific acceptable framework. Eventually, Heni managed to find a label quite connected to her
sense of self, namely, asexuality. In an NGO dominated by the discourse of sexual rights, non-label
is unintelligible.
2.2
The Assumption of Autonomous and Self-Determining Subject
In her article Richardson
[20]classified sexual rights into three streams: conduct-based,
identity-based, and relationship-based rights. Conduct-based rights include the right to participate in
sexual activity, the right to pleasure, and the right to sexual and reproductive self-determination; the
identity-based rights include the right to self-definition, the right to self-expression, and the right to
self-realisation; and finally, the relationship-based rights include the right to consent to sexual
practice in personal relationship, the right to freely choose our sexual partners, and the right to
publicly recognised sexual relationships. While these classifications are useful to articulate the
broad coverage of sexual rights, however, these articulations profoundly rely on the assumption that
individuals are autonomous and self-determining subjects, and thus, free and able to make decisions
independently. Individuals are assumed to be able to rationally decide when and how they want to
“participate in sexual activity.” They can and should freely “realise,” “determine,” “define,” and
“express” their sexuality. And they can autonomously “choose their sexual partners.”
One of my participant’s, Putri (22, college student, lesbian), showed that this is not always the
case. Putri found it difficult to comprehend her gender identity, because she does not feel she is a
woman, nor a man, nor a transgender. She wants to be someone with a flat chest and a vagina. Yes,
Putri should have the right to realise herself, but as – what? Yes, Putri should have the right to
self-definition. But her definition of her sexuality is fundamentally dependent on what definitions are
available in her situation. Currently, there is no “gender identity” label available to define herself.
Individuals are never free to express themselves, but always entangled in various discursive
limitations.
2.3
The Assumption of a Universal Vision of Humanity
Human rights are believed to be universal. It is supposed to be applied to all people all over
the world, regardless of who they are or where they live
[21]. However, history has shown that the
notion of human rights is not always universal and straightforward, but highly contested. As
Plummer
[22]put it, “Those who suggest that rights are straightforward, inalienable, uncontested –
and many do – work from a shallow and culturally limited ideas of rights.” It is because defining
what human rights are means defining what good life is
[22], or what it means to be human
[23-24]; or in
another word, to define the vision of humanity. This is, of course, a huge task. It certainly cannot
aim for a single universal vision, considering the diversity of cultures, religions, and ideologies –
with each of these having their own visions of humanity.
One of the most obvious examples is the uneasy relationship between religion and human
rights movement. Based on their own vision of humanity, most of the religions in the world have
certain beliefs or practices that basically violate human rights; from killing people in the name of
God, justifying domestic violence, to condemning lesbians and gays. Unsurprisingly, the 2005
World Report of Human Rights Watch documented a growing conflict between religion and human
rights initiatives
[25]. Of course, there are possibilities of cooperation between religion and human
rights as it has been documented in recent academic publications
[26-28]. My point is, like religion,
human rights are not universal and eternal; rather, it is one among many belief systems, with its
own vision of humanity.
2.4
The Assumption that the Human Rights Movement is Apolitical
dimensions of people’s life under one political authority; correspondingly, the human rights
movement also attempts to put considerably many aspects of our life under its coverage –
economic, educational, social, health-related, cultural, religious, technological, and even sexual –
and insists on enforcing its ideals in all these aspects. Totalitarianism views its political mission as
the ultimate good for all people; the human rights movement says the same about its vision of
humanity. Totalitarianism is hostile to any groups or institutions that might form an alternative
source of authority and loyalty; similarly, the human rights movement also does not provide any
space for religious and cultural alternatives which oppose human right standards. The human rights
movement was not just political, but also close to totalitarian politics, that is, one of the worst
political beliefs as witnessed by history.
My conversation with Anto (24, NGO activist, male, gay) resonates Smolin’s arguments. As
an LGBTI activist, Anto believes that in order to get the human rights protection they are supposed
to get, LGBTI people must come out and let their existence be recognised. He passionately
encouraged his gay friends to come out and be proud of their “sexual orientation,” as he does. His
belief does not provide any alternatives for his gay friends other than coming out. Although to some
extent I agree with Anto, however, like religion, not all our cherished goods can or should be
enforced by such totalitarian attitude
[32].
3
CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATION
In this paper, I have unpacked the dominant discourse around activisms and “sexual
orientation,” namely, the discourse of human sexual rights. I have identified and critiqued four
assumptions behind the discourse of human sexual rights.
What do these critiques leave us with? How do these insights enrich and transform activisms
around “sexual orientation” in Indonesia and elsewhere? While I do not have much space to detail
my proposal of alternative activisms here, one of the implications I want to highlight is that
activism does not have to be occupied with the discourse of human sexual rights. Instead of
protesting and debating the oppositional “truths” about “sexual orientation” from human rights,
religion, or morality perspectives, activists can represent their “truth” in less threatening ways such
as art and entertainment. There is less sense of obligation to agree with a piece of work of art,
which makes it less resisted too. I am optimistic about the possibility of such strategies in
Indonesia, since Indonesian audiences have shown that they are not allergic to alternative sexual
orientations and gender identities in the entertainment industry. The market reception of
LGBT-themed movies such as Arisan!, Arisan!2, Coklat Stroberi, Madame X, and Lovely Man was quite
good.
Another example of alternative activism is the humanitarian works done by a transgender
group in Yogyakarta, Indonesia during the eruption of Mount Merapi in 2010. As documented by
Balgos, Gaillard, and Sanz
[33], transgenders from an LGBT organisation, People Like Us, expressed
their willingness to help evacuees in the evacuation shelters. These transgenders said they do not
have money, but they can give their skills, that is, a haircut and make up service. Eventually, 20
transgenders gave free haircuts and make up services for more than 200 evacuees including men,
women, and children. They also held a fundraising event, namely, a drag queen contest, and
successfully raised a large amount of money from the people attending the event. Although their
humanitarian works were only short-term and on a small-scale, Balgos, et al.
[33]reported that these
transgenders felt it was a proud achievement because they can contribute to society. In my view, it
was not just beneficial for them and the evacuees, their charitable action also delivered the “truth”
that Indonesian transgenders exist and they are good people who wanted to do good things for
society. To some extent, they have challenged the dominant representation of transgenders who are
often described as street prostitutes with colourful attires calling out to passers-by.
I believe there are numerous other ways to engage in activism. It does not have to rely on
fixed and stable identity, or the assumption of autonomous and self-determining subjects. It does
not have to be universal or claiming itself apolitical. Activism is an art – the art of transforming
society.
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